Camelbak Mule?

Hello all, I am in the market for a new hydration pack, the one I own now is about 15 years old with no storage of any kind. I want the Mule or the Mule NV. Am I correct in that the only difference between the two is the ventilation? Also, I have read a bunch of stuff here on what tools to carry. If you are on a tight budget what would be your first tool or item bought to carry? I guess what Is the priority on your gear? Thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments.

Thanks for the reply. I bought the Osprey Raptor 14 from REI today, what a freaking awesome pack! Great deal for $30' I paid just under $100. I love this thing so far, I take my first ride with it in the morning. I will post tomorrow and let you know how it went.

Well I took the first ride today with the Osprey Raptor 14.......wow! This is the best hydration pack I have ever owned! I only have experience with Camelbak but the Osprey has exceeded my expectations. It is a perfect pack for mountain biking. I had plenty of water and plenty of room for other gear. The hydration bladder fts in the pack with ease, even when the pack is full. The magnet to hold the drinking hose is awesome! The pack fits perfect, no movement on my back and very comfortable, I love it. I give it 5 stars out of 5!
I do want to say that Camelbak makes a great hydration system, I just chose the Osprey this time.

The osprey looks nice but I am here to give cudos to camelback and it's durability. I have the M.U.L.E from 96'/97'??. It has seen thousands of miles of single track, holds everything I need, multi tools, tubes, cO2 cartridges, a compact pump, buck knife, rags, flashlight, chain lube, etc......

With personal items in the small pouch, outer mesh for bars and shades it has served me well with room too spare and I have no intention on parting with it until it falls apart.

I got my Osprey Raptor 10 in today. I've owned a lot of Camelbaks in my years but the craftsmanship of this bag is far superior. They also guarantee for the life of the bag to repair or replace and defects or "damage" that occurs to the bag. The damage part is pretty sweet.
The only other bag I've owned that was close was a Deuter.

I've had camelbaks and have had my Osprey Raptor 10 for a while now and have ridden countless miles with it. I love alot of the features on it, mainly the bladder. I also like the helmet holder and the shutoff valve. I dont love the rigidity of the pack though. The back panel is hard. I guess that is important if you have a larger capacity pack but for a 10 or 6 i dont see the point. I think the smaller packs would have done fine with just the rigidity of the bladder to give it shape. Oh and strap management on the osprey is horrible. If you're a slim dude you'll have straps flopping all over the place.

I saw a MULE at the local bike shop last night and i have to say that it looks pretty nice in comparison. Mainly because it doesnt have any of the negatives that the osprey has but then again.....it doesnt have the features that i love about the osprey either for the same price. It wasnt rigid, it was flopy. Had good strap management. And the back panel looked really nice and comfortable. My next pack might be a MULE with and Osprey bladder.....if that would work.